His first swimming lesson

Last week, I finally called up and made an appointment for my son's first swimming lesson. Found a teacher whose charges were reasonable for a group lesson and it turns out that he taught my sister how to swim a long long time ago.

Last Sunday morning, we spent almost 4 hours in the mall shopping for swimming goggles, for a present to bring to his friend's birthday party, and had lunch there.

Btw, Carrefour has own brand cheap decent goggles (anti fog, adjustable nose strap, kid sized, UV protection). Jusco carries the Ogival brand which is good and not expensive and fulfils those requirements.

I was a bit worried how his first lesson would go and had prayed about it. The outcome? It went swimmingly well! (Couldnt resist the pun) Thank you God!

We arrived slightly early so as not to get stressed rushing. There were a few kids already in the pool messing around. It was important that he saw kids in the water having fun before he started his lesson.

He was a bit scared before getting in and wanted me to accompany him into the water, which I intended to anyway. Once in, he was fine.

One of the kids was his age and I quickly made friends with him. My son liked him as he was talkative, active and friendly. The other kids were already pretty good swimmers and somewhat older than him (6+ to 12).

In a group lesson, there is very limited time that the teacher can spend with my son. I had been given the heads up, by another mum, that I'd be expected to get into the water with my son in a group lesson. So most of the time, I was the one leading my son from one end of the pool to the other, encouraging him to kick.

Teacher was nice to my son and every so often would take him from me to teach him a little. Then he'd hand my son back to me and I'd try to help my son practice what the teacher tried to teach.

Thanks to Fezia, my son was already introduced to the idea of kicking and of blowing out under water (blowing bubbles, she said). Most importantly, she was someone he trusted and was very gentle in introducing him to the pool, many many months ago. I'd have a much harder time if he had a phobia of the pool. Of course, the other positive pool experience he had a few months ago with my friend's 2 girls helped a great deal too.

Teacher refused to put any time frame when I repeatedly asked how long it'd take for my son to be water safe. He said that each person is different and that my son was fine today. He didnt want to put any pressure on him to avoid the risk of him disliking swimming lessons. I agree with him, especially when it's at the early stage.

Since I was like his shadow aide in the pool, I also saw how the teacher interacted with the other kids, and how he was able to challenge them just a little bit. So I think I've found the right teacher for my son for now. Only thing is that we got stuck in an awful traffic jam coming home (slightly over hour in traffic when it could have been 20mins on a clear day)!

He ate a lot for dinner and is sleeping soundly. Hopefully with swimming lessons, he not only learns to be water safe, but will bring about improved co-ordination, stronger muscles, stronger lungs and deeper breaths.